Protect Me, Maybe?
by penpenhooray
Summary: Ori is more than aware of the fact that Dwalin seems to be following him around Erebor. What he wasn't aware of was just why the burly warrior kept shadowing him.


Contrary to popular belief, Ori was not oblivious. Sure, he might not be as…experienced in the world as some other dwarrow, but that was hardly his fault, years were not on his side.

And in his defense, he had gained quite a bit of experience in recent months, what with the whole "Quest for Erebor" thing.

But he digresses.

Ori was not so oblivious that he failed to noticed that Dwalin had taken to appearing wherever Ori would be.

Of course, Ori was a sensible dwarf (which might pale in comparison to the sensibilities of Mister Bilbo, but he had been raised by Dori), so at first, he didn't think anything was amiss. Perhaps a string of coincidences.

Ori stopped believing in the coincidences after the first two weeks. Especially after Ori had caught Dwalin in the library, supposedly looking for a book for Balin (Ori wasn't stupid enough to believe that Balin wanted a book of poetry, especially one that he himself had written).

But Ori let it slide, wanting instead to figure out what the older warrior was up to.

Three weeks later, he still couldn't figure it out.

"Is there a reason you keep following me?" Ori finally asked one day, not looking up from his work (he didn't need to, Dwalin was not built for stealth, especially in a library).

There was a small clatter in response, no doubt from Grasper and Keeper knocking against the shelves, before Dwalin stepped out from his hiding place, "How did you know I was there?"

Ori rolled his eyes, "You're always there, Dwalin." He carefully set his quill back on it's stand, "I'm just curious as to why."

"I'm not always following you around."

"Dwalin, I've caught you in the library more times than I can count, and I know you hate reading, so don't pretend you're here looking for a book."

Dwalin didn't answer immediately, instead shuffling slightly from foot to foot.

"There's been talk of a rebellion." He mumbled, "Some who don't want Thorin as king, or who think someone else would do better."

"Ah," Ori nodded slowly, getting up from his desk, "…so why are you protecting me?"

"Pardon?"

"I said why are you protecting me? After all, if there is a coup, don't you think it would be wiser to be protecting Thorin, or better yet, Fili or Kili? Mahal knows they can get themselves into trouble more often than not."

There was an awkward silence that settled between them. Of course, Ori could see the flush of red that was blossoming on Dwalin's cheeks (not to mention his head and ears).

That was when something clicked in Ori's mind.

 _Oh._

Well perhaps he was a bit oblivious after all.

"It's not safe." Dwalin grunted, apparently not wishing to waste his breath with too many syllables. "There's danger lurking in Erebor."

Ori nodded, "Ah…is this danger worse than the fire drake?"

"Not all dangers breathe fire, lad. Some of the most dangerous threats lurk in the shadows, and you never notice them until they strike."

"You don't have to tell me that, Nori is my brother after all."

Dwalin cleared his throat, puffing out his chest slightly. Ori raised an eyebrow. He wasn't used to seeing the warrior so flustered. Agitated? Yes. Furious? Absolutely? Homocidal? On the daily.

But flustered? Never.

Ori couldn't help but find it endearing.

"…jus' don't want anything happening to you, lad." Dwalin mumbled finally.

Ori couldn't help but smile, "I'll keep that in mind. Though I'm not as helpless as you think."

"I don't think you're helpless."

"Maybe not, but I doubt you know how many weapons I have on me at this moment." Ori smirked, picking up his workbooks. He doubted he would be getting much work done in the library at this rate.

Plus seeing the look of disbelief on Dwalin's face was quite worth the bluff (to be fair, Ori did have a knife on him…even if it was a penknife). Though as Ori made his way to the library entrance, he didn't hear Dwalin's heavy booted feet behind him.

Ori turned, careful not to drop his books as he looked back at Dwalin, "Well, are you coming?"

The warrior raised an eyebrow, "Coming where?"

"To escort me to my rooms of course," Ori nodded, "Didn't you hear? There's danger lurking in Erebor, and who knows what protection I might need?"


End file.
